As I stashed away the Christmas decorations and viewed my old record collection (above) in the far corner of the attic, I thought of a recent discussion I heard about KonMari. It involves a philosophy or approach to cleaning and tidying up things in your life and ultimately disposing of these items.
On the other hand, if you are stashing items simply because you do not know what else to do with them, again KonMari posits to make it go away because of its low pleasure return.
An example I heard in the interview involved keeping your kids “Refrigerator Art” items that you have saved thru the years. The KonMari lady recommended that you ask your kids if they wanted any of it and when they said no, that was your green light to dispose of it as you would i.e. trash it.
She did note that photo’s and mementos were the toughest of items to make go away. Again though, she reverted to the pleasure rule of thumb and encouraged folks to review these items along that continuum – if it gives you pleasure, keep it, if not then outta here.
Just for the record (pun intended) I decided to keep my old albums where they are for now. I still enjoy seeing them even if it is only twice a year – once when I take the Christmas decorations out and then when I put them away. Maybe it is the Christmas crap I should be making go away! Humbug and all that!
